


Dance of the Spider

by taza_de_caca



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dancer!PeterParker, F/M, Fluff, MJ also does ballet, Ned is just worried for his friend, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter can dance, Precious Peter Parker, Tony wants to support his son, peter does ballet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 08:38:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15968720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taza_de_caca/pseuds/taza_de_caca
Summary: Peter Parker is back after fighting an alien on a planet that was definitely not Earth. He's not ready to process what happened until MJ, in a moment of kindness, offers him an outlet for all the confusing feelings: ballet.





	Dance of the Spider

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a dancer, and I no absolutely nothing about ballet. I just know I'm a sucker for dancer Peter fanfics.

Peter was on the edge of a breakdown. He wanted to cry, but couldn’t. His chest was tight and his body rediated with a need to do something but lacking the knowledge of what. So, he just lay back on his bed, headphones in and Oh Wonder playing like background noise to his thoughts. Peter flung a hand over his head in an attempt to do something, anything. It didn’t help his restlessness. It had been like this ever since he had come back. When Peter wasn’t doing anything, he was swamped with unwanted thoughts. When he was confronted with such thoughts, he did not know how to sort through them. So he just tried to block them out with loud music.  
The door banged open. MJ stood there, curly hair resting just below her shoulders and carrying a drawstring backpack in one hand. Ned lingered behind her in an apologetic pose, hands raised in surrender.  
“MJ?” Peter questioned as he pulled out his headphones. “What are you doing in my house?”  
“Ned was talking to me,” she responded as she marched into the room as if she was a regular visitor, “and he said you were bottling up a lot of emotions, and he was worried for you.”  
“Ned?” Peter tried to ignore that the fact that his voice rose multiple octaves.  
“I didn’t say that!” Ned protested as he tried to hide himself behind MJ’s thin frame. She raised an eyebrow at him in true MJ fashion. He turned his head away from the two of them before muttering, “Okay, fine.”  
“Exactly, so you need an outlet.” MJ reached on hand into her navy blue bag and drew out a pamphlet. “Here.”  
Peter took the pamphlet hesitantly, reading the bright yellow letters on the front outloud. “Joffrey Ballet School.” He looked back to MJ.  
“I’m on the team there. It helps. A lot.” She looked away as she spoke before taking a spot on Peter’s Star Wars themed bed sheets. “Look, I’m not going to pretend I know what it was like to die.” She grimaced. “But I do know a lot about people and emotions and how people deal with these emotions. It didn’t take a confession from Ned to make me notice what was going on with you. You need an outlet, something that lets you to sort through your emotions.”  
Peter cleared his throat, ignoring Ned’s shocked face from over MJ’s shoulder. It would have been comical in another situation. “I appreciate it MJ, but I already have outlets many in facts.” He let out a nervous laugh.  
“Does this outlet involve a spandex costume and swinging over New Queens?”  
“What?” Another nervous laugh as Ned’s shocked face evolved into something greater.  
“You’re not exactly great at hiding things, Peter. I saw you at Flash’s party getting changed.”  
“Oh.” Peter avoided her gaze.  
“Being Spiderman is not a specifically healthy habit, Peter. I’m not going to convince you to stop, because I think what you’re doing is good, but you come to school everyday with deeper and deeper dark circles and bruises all over your body. And don’t try to tell me that every time you put on the suit you don’t have flashbacks. I saw you go to space just the same as every New York resident who watches the news. And when Tony Stark came back to earth, I noticed you weren’t with him.”  
Peter’s eyes began to sting with tears. He wiped at his face.  
“Peter, I think you should do it.” Ned’s soft voice surprised him in the silence. “It’ll be good for you.”  
Peter nodded, slowly, looking up with red rimmed eyes. “I’ll give it a try.”

 

***

When Peter had pulled up with Aunt May in their maroon minivan, he was starting to have second thoughts. The first month of lessons had already been paid for, though. He had asked Aunt May the day after MJ’s visit over a dinner of pre packaged caesar salad. She had looked with him with surprise as he quickly tried to back out of it with hurried “neverminds,” but she had smiled in the end and had rubbed patterns into her hands for the rest of the meal.  
So, here they were, in front of the tall building. May looked at him, the blinker still on, and said, “I’m proud of you, Peter.”  
Peter unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to hug May. “Thank you.”  
And then he sprung out of the car, bag of recommended supplies courtesy of MJ, in his hand. MJ herself was, waiting leaning next to the door. She smiled at him in a way not native to her face. He returned it, nonetheless, in a nervous manner.  
“Ready?” she asked him.  
“Sure,” Peter replied, and they stepped into the building.

***

Two hours later, Peter was officially the fifth boy on the dance team, was covered in sweat, and was smiling fully for the first time in since he had come back from space. He even hugged MJ as they left the building and left her staring after him as he sprinted to Aunt May’s car.  
Aunt May herself studied him for a minute. “Did you like it?” she finally asked as they pulled into traffic.  
“Definitely,” Peter replied and then took a large drink out of his green water bottle.  
“Did you make the team?”  
“Yeah. I guess being Spiderman gives you a little advantage when one is starting ballet.” He giggled.  
Aunt May huffed a laugh. “I guess so.”  
Peter let his hand wander to his bag, which held black ballet shoes and his newly acquired uniform. He went on to tell Aunt May about the class and the students and all the performances they would be having through the year. He never really ended up finishing a thought. 

***

Peter slept well that night, out of pure exhaustion. He woke up early the next day, to do a quick lap around the neighborhood as Spiderman. The only thing he caught was a robbery in the alley and an older woman wandering around the neighborhood with a map that kept getting caught by the wind. Peter helped her home while making small talk about her grandson. His name was Wally.  
Then Peter swung home, changing and eating a breakfast. He waved goodbye to May as he began his walk to the bus stop. Both Ned and MJ were already tucked away in the back of the bus, leaning across the aisle to talk to one another. They pulled apart as Peter slid into the seat next to Ned.  
“How was dance?” Ned asked in an almost conspiring tone.  
“Good. It was good.” He smiled at MJ, but she was already bent over her sketchbook as her pencil jumped around the page.


End file.
